University Press Releases

Two SCU Law Alums Receive Top Corporate Counsel Awards

Friday, Mar. 2, 2012

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 2, 2012 --Two Santa Clara University School of Law alumni were honored with top prizes in the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal Corporate Counsel awards. The two were among the nine winners from among 27 nominees (including four other SCU Law alums). The awards honor the top legal minds representing the interests of some of the world's most recognized companies, based in the Bay Area and Silicon Valley.

Sam O’Rourke, deputy general counsel of intellectual property at Facebook, won the magazine’s award for Rising Star, for his work on some of Facebook’s cutting-edge intellectual property issues. In the story, colleagues described O’Rourke, who graduated from SCU Law in 1999, as “drop-dead smart, (with) very good people and street instincts” and “a genuinely nice guy with a flair for the quintessential California free spirit.”

Andrew Vu, assistant general counsel for SAP in Palo Alto, won the award for top Community Champion, for his work advocating for Asian-American, Vietnamese-American, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community issues. Vu, who graduated in 1993, was described as “almost like a secret Batman who can go out and save the world.”

The two men were honored Thursday night by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal and the San Francisco Business Times at 2012 Best Bay Area Corporate Counsel Awards, held at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay.

Profiles of all the winners and finalists are available to Business Journal subscribers in print and online.